1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a barbecue (BBQ) grill hinge assembly, and more particularly to a hinge assembly with a positive stop and the positive stop stops cover from opening more than a specific angle with respect to the grill body.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional barbecue (BBQ) grill (60) comprises a hinge assembly (not numbered), a lip (66), a cover (62) and a grill body (64). The lip (66) is securely formed on the grill body (64), and the lip allows the cover (62) to be mounted securely on the grill body (64). The hinge assembly comprises a hinge pin (600), cover knuckles (620) and a body knuckle (642). The cover knuckles (620) are attached securely to the cover (62), and a transverse pivot hole (not numbered) is formed through each cover knuckle (620). The body knuckle (642) is attached securely to the body (64), and a transverse pivot hole (not numbered) is formed through the body knuckle (642) and aligns with the transverse pivot holes in the cover knuckles (620). The hinge pin (600) rotatably connects the cover knuckles (620) and the body knuckle (642) by extending through the transverse pivot holes in the cover knuckles (620) and the body knuckle (642). Therefore, the cover (62) of the BBQ grill (60) can be opened with respect to the grill body by means of the hinge assembly. The disadvantage of the conventional hinge assembly for the BBQ grill is that the angle to which the cover (62) opens with respect to the grill body (64) is uncontrollable. When the cover (62) is opened with respect to the grill body (64) based on the hinge assembly, the cover (62) cannot be held at a certain opening angle. Therefore, the cover (62) either falls back to the covered position on the grill body (64) or swings completely open until the cover strikes the body of the grill. The weight of the cover (62) can easily tip the grill body (64) over and damage the grill or ruin food cooking on the grill. Moreover, attaching the conventional hinge assembly to the BBQ grill (60) requires cutting away a section of the lip (66) of the BBQ grill (60). In other words, the structure of the BBQ grill must be modified before the hinge assembly can be attached. If the BBQ grill (60) has an irregular shape, the conventional hinge assembly may be difficult or impossible to attach to the grill.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a hinge assembly for a BBQ grill to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a barbecue (BBQ) grill hinge assembly that fits on a BBQ grill of any shape and can be held open at a specific angle.
To accomplish the objective of the invention, the BBQ grill hinge assembly in accordance with the present invention has a cover bracket, a body bracket and a hinge pin to pivotally connect the cover bracket to the body bracket. The cover bracket has a positive stop, and the body bracket has a bracket body with a positive stop. When the BBQ grill cover is opened with respect to the grill body, the cover stops at a certain angle because the positive stop is stopped at the positive stop.